2019 comedy ‘Criminals at Sea’ is a hit on Netflixso it was no surprise that a few months later, it was announced that a sequel was in the works.
Four years, and of course, a pandemic after that, the sequel has finally arrived, bringing it all together Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler as a married couple who dream of becoming private investigators. Like the first film, it doesn’t invent the wheel or spoil the originality, but on the plus side Sandler appears to us to be at least annoying, and Mark Strong gives the kind of deliciously angry performance we’ve seen from him in other comedies before. Action (“Shazam!”, “Kingsman” films, etc.) in which he participated.
“Criminals on the Horizon” (that’s the official Spanish title of “Criminals at Sea 2”) brings us into the lives of Nick, a New York police officer, and Audrey, a hairdresser who loves mystery novels, after they quit their day jobs to try to make a living as professional detectives. (Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the first movie, because the first scenes sum it up pretty well.).
However, they’re not very good at solving puzzles, as we know, so when their old friend Vic (aka the Maharaja) invites them to his lavish, all-expenses-paid Pacific Island wedding, they seize the opportunity to go on vacation. It will not be difficult for you to guess what will happen next: At the pre-wedding festivities, Vic is kidnapped, and Nick and Audrey take it upon themselves to solve the crime..
There are a few suspects, including Judy Turner-Smith as the Countess, and Melanie Laurent from Inglourious Basterds as Vic’s fiancée, and the pair join the investigation along with stern ex-SAS guy Connor Miller (Mark Strong), who arrives. With his team to negotiate with the kidnappers.
If you’ve ever seen a movie and we mean any movie and it’s not Just Murder, You’ll find out who’s to blame long before Nick and Audrey do (in fact, you probably guessed it from the recap above)but this movie never aspires to be an Agatha Christie mystery or even one as twisted as Knives in the Back.
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As with the first movie, The formula here is the chemistry of the superstars (Aniston and Sandler) and the beautiful places they visit (Hawaii acts as Vic’s private island, then the action shifts to Paris) along with an easy plot that doesn’t require much thought: it all adds up to a harmless crime comedy that relies heavily on cuteness for a family audience.
Of course, this means that everything looks normal: It’s not overly sexy, it’s mildly funny rather than eliciting big laughs, and despite some gunfights, the camera always pans away. before any violent moment Sergeants can worry (too bad, because the scene where the death is by helicopter blades in particular could be as memorable as the plane from ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ if the camera hadn’t cut before).
but, That’s not to say that “Criminals in the Wild” isn’t a fun distraction. Aniston is charming throughout and stars in some of her best moments (and also one of her most impressive stunts, near the end), and there are likable performances as Vik, Enrique Arce from “Money Heist” as Vik’s business partner, Danny Boone as the aforementioned Inspector Delacroix. Mark Strong.
While we can criticize it for being a simple and undemanding movie, that’s actually what sells it from the start. It’s one of those movies where you can sit back, relax, let it wash over you, and celebrate the stupidity of it all while doing it..
